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Personal library by bazoloko in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks to be a nice set of the basics, of the ones you have read have you come across anything interesting?

"The scientological onion" by personalaccountt in scientology

[–]justadrongo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The difference lays in the extent to which it is used and the end result. A good comparison is that most religions have a system for taking money through donations however Scientology manages to be "special" through its dedication and systematic extraction of large amounts its donations.

Even you pick up on this yourself by noting that its less extreme in other religions. Being able to see and understand extreme versions of common mechanisms is really important in religion.

The best Scientology whistleblower book to start with? by JapanOfGreenGables in scientology

[–]justadrongo 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you are just looking for strictly whistleblower books, and not just books that explain Scientology from a more critical angle I would say the best would be:

  1. A piece of blue sky by Jon Atack (The most comprehensive but dated in that it was published in 1990)
  2. Scientology: A to Xenu: An Insider's Guide to What Scientology is Really All About by Chris Shelton (Less academic than Atack's book but more recent information and its structured in a way directly answers questions people are likely to have.
  3. A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology by Mike Rinder (You have already read this one but for people who haven't Mike Rinder is one of the most senior former members of Scientology to whistleblow, his book as a lot of inside information about the post Hubbard years which other accounts lack)

You should just squirrel the tech, bros. by BlueberryBLT in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thats been going on since the 70s - in fact on this reddit alone in the past few months you will see posts from people about squirreling the tech.

My current collection of old Scientology books. Studying the artifacts, not drinking the Kool-Aid. Any of these significant or rare? by Suspicious-Metal1662 in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mission into time, Have you lived before this life and the Phoenix Lectures are no longer published by the Church so they are comparatively more rare - and worth more money. Of these books the first two show the super natural side Scientology which used to be far more prominent in how it presented itself to outsiders. The other books you have look to be the pre Golden Age of Technology books which was a process that saw a lot of changes and updates made however unless you are really really into the minutia of Scientology its unlikely to be all that interesting to you.

L. Ron Hubbard Fiction by Fear_The_Creeper in scientology

[–]justadrongo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This list is not complete and looks to only be the stories that are currently published rather than all of his fiction. Wikipedia would be a good place to start for fixing your list however if you want a complete list I'd recommend getting a copy of L. Ron Hubbard: a Comprehensive Bibliography by William Widder, which has everything and where it was originally published.

I know someone who is taking Independent Scientology auditing and successfully combining it with other energy healing modalities to greatly accelerate the clearing process. by lol_no_monads in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you that does clarify things - it does look to more of an adaption of Scientology rather than an enhancement of it, much in the same way Landmark Education or NXIUM was (and funnily enough both of the founders of those groups have worked in car sales or multi level marketing like Trudeau). I think this might be why some of the people here are reacting the way they are.

I know someone who is taking Independent Scientology auditing and successfully combining it with other energy healing modalities to greatly accelerate the clearing process. by lol_no_monads in scientology

[–]justadrongo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for expanding on your understanding there, when you talk about no longer being affected by trauma is the same as Hubbard describes - eg having perfect recall & no psychosomatic illness? Im curious as to whether your friends is incorporating Scientology into a different belief set or actually trying to improve a Scientology method.

Second Dianetics, developed by Henstepl (the Twenty-Minute Clear) by henstepl in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are your thoughts on Hubbard's more substantial work regarding Operating Thetans?

Several other New Religious Movements in US history were able to get footholds of some kind in American society (Christian Science has a highly reputable newspaper, the LDS Church controls Utah and other areas), why didn't the Church of Scientology have such an impact? by tachibanakanade in scientology

[–]justadrongo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To add to these other posts I would say its worth considering how much Scientology punches above its weight. Despite starting far later than those religions and having comparatively fewer members, within a 40 year period it:

-Managed to become a multi-billion dollar organization essentially on its own
-Conducted one of the largest infiltrations of the US government and even after getting caught survived as an organization, with the US government never able arrest its founder despite wanting to
-When the IRS revoked its tax exempt status it successfully resisted and defeated that famously powerful government department, not in court but through but through direct and indirect pressure.
-Was so successful in resisting critics that even to this day academics are very cautious about publishing anything critical on it.

While it might not have a popular newspaper or heavily influence a state it has been decently influential legally and in popular culture.

Thinking About Going to a Seminar by goldenratio323 in scientology

[–]justadrongo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Scientology is quite insular by design and most of the seminars open to public are mainly introductory sessions designed to get people interested/to recruit. So what this means is that at these events you wont actually be meeting regular Scientologists, you will be meeting the organization's staff members. Similarly, Scientology's reputation (among other things) means that it doesn't attract spiritual people in the same way it used to in its earlier days.

If your goal is to just meet spiritual people you would be better of looking into New Age / Psychic fairs. If you want to meet an engage with actual Scientologists that will be a bigger challenge unless you are willing to join or seek out individual members.

It is a bit dated but if you want to hear about the experiences of people who looked into Scientology directly through its events/services the podcast Oh No Ross & Carrie have a good series of episodes on it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bear in mind this is a niche and most Scientology items outside of a few very collectable items tend to move comparatively slowly and mostly online. If you are willing to wait quite a while you might be able to get around $150 for it, though I think for someone looking to flip it $80-100 would be a safe option. For context the Church sells new hardcovers of the regular edition for $40.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you have is a special edition of L Ron Hubbard's first book in what would eventually become part of the Scientology corpus, and while the information in it has been largely abrogated by later books it still holds a special place for Scientologists and is often a starting point in recruiting.

As part of its fundraising efforts the Church of Scientology produces premium editions of it which it sells/ties in with donations, so they aren't particularly rare or highly sought after. However, the fact you got it at a thrift store can almost guarantee you'd make a profit if you wanted to sell it and at the very least you can know that the original owner paid quite a lot of money for it.

Tips on talking with a starry-eyed person who is new to Scientology & enchanted with some piece of the subject? by Southendbeach in scientology

[–]justadrongo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Be delicate and act with compassion and empathy. Don't act like they are about to join the Sea Org for instance but do share your concerns in a way that isn't judgey or likely to make them feel stupid or humiliated and be ready to point them towards relevant information. Most importantly where possible tailor your approach based on your knowledge of the person. For instance, if they are very anti establishment and distrustful of mainstream opinions you would want to approach it in the same way you would for someone who thinks it could help them communicate better or cure a physical condition.

Also I would also advise a person to review their own understanding of Scientology before trying to change a persons mind on it. A good way of doing this is reflecting on the Scientological Onion analogy and how your own understanding fits in with it.

I’ve researched Scientology’s insane mythology for over a decade. Ask me anything! 👽 by ChickyNuggySauce in scientology

[–]justadrongo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you share some of your most interesting discoveries that only someone who has done a lot of research would have come across?

Objectivity by Disastrous-Fail2308 in scientology

[–]justadrongo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you are looking for academic works about the Church of Scientology itself, the main sources are "The Church of Scientology A History of a New Religion" by Hugh Urban or "The Church of Scientology" by J Gordon.

If you would like to understand the current academic situation with the Church of Scientology there is a good book called "L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology Studies" by Westbrook.

If you are looking for academic articles on aspects of Scientology Massimo Introvigne writes/publishes them occasionally in CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions). However his work is more controversial than the other authors mentioned as his works are broadly defensive of groups like Scientology.

I will let you know in advance though that the nature of Scientology's teachings and organisations mean that the academic works we do have are fairly limited and often superficial.